Fajitas

One of my husband's favorite meals is tacos so most Tuesday we do something with them or at least something Mexican. I had flank steak left over in the freezer from making beef and broccoli so I decided on fajitas. And like beef and broccoli it cooks fast because everything in thinly sliced and cooked over high heat.

Ingredients

• 12 oz flank steak (you can use chicken or whatever meat you prefer)
• 1 tbls purchased or homemade Fajitas seasoning (given below)
• 4-6 tortillas
• 2 tbls cooking oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced red or green peppers
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
• 3/4 cup chopped tomato
• 1 tbls lime juice

1. Slice steak across the grain into bite-size strips. Place meat strips in a deep bowl and sprinkle with 2 tsp of the fajita seasoning. Cover and chill 30 minutes (I did much longer as I prepared this during my daughter's afternoon nap)

2. Heat 1 tbls of oil over medium-high heat. Add sweet peppers, onion and remaining seasoning. Cook and stir about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove onion mixture from skillet.

3. Add the other 1 tbls of oil and the meat to the skillet. Cook and stir about 2-3 minutes until desired doneness for steak is reached. Drain Well. Return onion mixture to skillet. Stir in tomatoes. Cook until heated thought. Remove from skillet; stir in lime juice

4. To serve, fill warmed tortilla with meat mixture. Top meat with anything you want. We did some sour cream and guacamole.

Homemade Fajita Seasoning 

Two things are great about this. One - all of it is used in this one recipe. Two - if you don't have one of the spices just leave it out. I did and I didn't know the difference.

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp red pepper
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp onion powder

Pico de Gallo

I just made The Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo and it's so good I decided to post it. You can just as easily go over to her blog and find it there I'm sure. She says the secret to making great Pico de Gallo is making sure there are equal parts of onion, tomato, and cilantro. Not just a lot of tomatoes and hints of everything else. It's easy, healthy, and delicious for summer. I have a feeling I'll be posting her stuff in the near furture. My Grandma let me borrow her cookbook for a couple weeks and I want to try making most everything in it.



Ingredients

• Yellow or red onion
• Roma tomatoes
• Cilantro
• Jalapeños
• Lime
• Salt

Directions

• Dice up the onion, tomatoes, and cilantro; equal in quantity to each other.
• Slice in half then dice very fine 1 or 2 jalapeños. Scrape out the seeds with a spoon. If you like some spice, leave some of the white membranes. 
• Dump everything into a bowl, squeeze half a lime over everything, and mix
• Sprinkle with salt. She suggests tasting with a chip so you don't over salt. 

Tamale Pie

My husband had a tradition in his house that all the kids had a special meal that they made for the family, and they would make them once or twice a month. Well, this is my husbands meal. He's adapted it so far off the original, that it's a recipe of it's own. The only thing that stuck was the name, tamale pie. Funny thing is, there are no tamales and it's not pie shaped - I really have no idea why it was called this. But what I do know, is that it's a favorite of this new family. I probably crave it more than my husband. :) I hope it becomes a family favorite for you as well.

Note: I know a lot of you ladies have little ones, so this may be too spicy for them. So if you want to substitute canned diced tomatoes (with onion and garlic) for the Rotel, it will be just fine. But I definitely recommend the Rotel, it adds so much flavor.


Ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium onion or 2 teaspoons minced onion
28 oz. Rotel original
5 or 6 flour tortillas
4 cups shredded Monterrey and Colby Jack Cheese blend
2 small cans of sliced black olives, drained


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Cook the ground beef in a large skillet; Drain. Add the garlic powder, chili powder, salt, black pepper, onion, and Rotel. Mix together and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered.
2. Meanwhile, spray a 9 x 13 baking pan liberally with non stick spray. Place one layer of flour tortillas in the bottom, being sure to go up the edge of the pan as well.
3. Place half the meat & tomato mixture (and the juice) on top of the tortillas. Layer about 1 1/2 cups of the cheese next.
4. Place another layer of tortillas, the rest of the meat & tomato mixture, and the rest of the cheese.
5. Bake for 25 minutes. Top with black olives and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

The leftovers are delicious as well!

Bean & Beef Enchilada Casserole

This is from one of my favorite cookbooks, "Fast Fix family food" by BHG. I've been making this ever since it was in the magazine. It's basically a Mexican lasagna and you use corn tortillas instead of pasta.


Ingredients
1 pound of lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 15oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 4oz. can diced green chile peppers, undrained
1 8oz. carton sour cream
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
10-12 6-inch corn tortillas
1 10oz. can enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

chopped tomatoes (optional)
sliced green onions (optional)


Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a large skillet, cook the ground beef, and onion over medium heat until onion is tender and the meat is no longer pink. Drain off the fat.
   
2. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, drained pinto beans and undrained chile peppers; set aside.
3. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, flour and garlic powder;set aside.
4. Place half of the tortillas in the bottom of a lightly greased 2-quart rectangular baking dish; cut to fit if necessary. Top with half the meat mixture, half the sour cream mixture, half the enchilada sauce, and 1 cup of cheese. Repeat the layers, except the remaining cheese.
5. Cover the dish with foil; bake 35 to 40 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with the reserved cup of cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 5 minutes more or until cheese melts.
6. If desired, top with tomato and sliced green onions. (I just used the tomato)
   

Serves 6.

*Sorry for the messy plate, I was back for seconds. YUM! :)

Guacamole

There are so many ways to make guacamole. Personally, I am really picky about mine - I like it pretty simple.

Ingredients:
ripe avocados (when softly squeezed they must give only slightly)
tomatoes
lime juice
something to give it a little "heat" (a jalapeno finely chopped or I use hot sauce)
garlic (fresh chopped or powder)
salt

Cut avocados in half lengthwise, discard pits and peel skin from each half. Mash avocados in bowl. Squeeze lime juice all over. Chop tomatoes and mix with avocados. Add your jalapeno or hot sauce/salsa. Add garlic and salt. Mix everything together. Refrigerate. Eat until you feel sick to your stomach!

*Honestly, I could not say how much of each ingredient to put in. When I make it, I usually use five avocados and two tomatoes. Then I add a little bit of all of the remaining ingredients and then taste it. Then I usually add more of everything. This goes on until I think it tastes perfect. Of course, by then most of it is gone! Other ingredients that could be used are cilantro or onions. I personally do not like cilantro at all, and I could never imagine onions in mine, so I do not use those.

SOUP!

I was craving soup on this cold and rainy day. We had a baked chicken last night, and I didn't know what to do with it. But, I threw some stuff together and made a great chicken tortilla soup for tonight. I don't know if the kids will eat it, heaven forbid stuff "mix" on their plate, but it is pretty darn tasty. Hope you all try it and like it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cooked and shredded
1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilis (rotel)
1 10z can diced tomatoes
1 10oz can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
2 cans chicken broth (4 cups)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
10 oz. frozen sweet corn

Mix all ingredients in the crockpot and simmer all day. Crush up some tortilla chips and put in a bowl. Pour soup on top. Top with shredded mexican blend cheese and any other toppings you like.

Baked Chimichangas

Growing up in New Mexico, I always loved to eat chimichangas. Traditionally they are deep fried, and while I do fry them occasionally, this baked version is obviously healthier. It is also easy for me to prep ahead of time and then leave it for my husband to pop in the oven for dinner while I am at work (which is what he will be doing tonight!)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c cooked chicken breast
1 box Spanish Rice (I really like Rice - a - Roni)
1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1- 4.5 oz can diced green chiles
Shredded cheese
1 pkg tortillas
1 can refried beans
Sour cream
1 fresh tomato, chopped
Salsa
Olive Oil

1. Cook rice according to directions on box. This will usually mean mixing in the can of tomatoes. This is also when I add the chile.
2. When rice is cooked, combine some of the rice, chicken, beans, cheese, and salsa. Warm a tortilla for 25 seconds in microwave. Spoon mixture into the middle of the tortilla. Fold sides and ends of tortilla, and roll it up. Place seam side down into a 13x9x2in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Then lightly brush chimichanga with olive oil.
3. Continue making the chimichangas until you have filled your baking dish, placing one chimichanga right next to the other.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for about a half hour or until heated through and golden brown.
5. Top the chimichanga with salsa, fresh tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream.

Note: You could actually use any kind of meat: ie. beef instead of chicken. You can also use any type of beans: ie. black or pinto instead of refried. The great thing about chimichangas is that you can fill them with anything you like. You can also top them with anything: tomatoes, onions, lettuce, sour cream, etc. Also, whenever I mix the meat, salsa, cheese, rice, and beans, I do not measure anything. I kind of add equal parts, taste, and see if it needs anymore of one ingredient or another.

Mexican, anyone?

I have been in the mood for some spicy food lately. I used to make these enchiladas all the time, but then I think I must have forgotten about them. They are very easy and quite tasty. Of course for the children I will hold out some chicken and some cheese and a few tortillas and give them a more plain version. I'm not sure where I found this recipe initially years ago, but it is an ol' standby. Hope you all try it and enjoy!

Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas

2 10oz. cans of mild enchilada sauce
2 cups (or more) of chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup sour cream
1 4oz can of chopped green chilis (undrained)
1/3 cup chopped green onions (i left these out this time)
8 oz. shredded cheese of your choice
flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350. Combine chicken, sour cream, chilies, onion in a bowl. Add about half of the cheese to the bow. Pour 1 can enchilada sauce in a 9x13 pan. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down the middle of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas and place, seam side down, in prepared baking pan. Pour remaining 1 can enchilada sauce over the top; sprinkle top with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are heated through. Good covered with extra sour cream and tortilla chips on the side. I also serve with a side of rice.

Of course I forgot to take a picture once this was cooked. But this is what it looked like going into the oven!

Enjoy!

At least dinner was good.

So yesterday was another sad day for those of us that bleed Blue and Gold. But alas, at least I made a yummy dinner during halftime.

Layered Enchilada Bake

1 lb of lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups of salsa
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
1/4 cup of Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
2 Tbsp of Taco seasoning mix
6 flour tortillas
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg (8 oz) Mexican style shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown meat with onions in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add salsa, beans, dressing, and seasoning mix. Mix well.

Arrange three of the tortillas in single layer on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of half each of the meat mixture, sour cream, and cheese. Repeat all layers. Cover with foil.

Bake, covered, 30 min. Remove foil. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 min before cutting to serve.

From Kraft foods.

You can even make this ahead of time and freeze it. You just line your dish with foil before starting the layers, then cover with foil and freeze up to 3 months! Then you can either take it out and bake it for an hour covered and then 15-20 uncovered, OR thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then bake it uncovered for 45 minutes the next day.

Now we will go through everything I did differently from the recipe. I didn't have enough salsa, so I substituted a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles. I didn't measure my Italian dressing. I made it in a smaller dish. I used more than a lb of ground beef. I used more than 2 T of taco seasoning (what the heck was I going to do with the rest of the packet, anyway?) I didn't measure out my cheese or sour cream when I did my layers, I just dumped a bunch on. I think that's all I did differently... Man, it was yummy. And plenty for leftovers, too, which I had tonight.